High Museum of Art Names Sarah Schleuning New Curator of Decorative Arts and Design

ATLANTA, April 15, 2011 – Michael E. Shapiro, the Nancy and Holcombe T. Green Jr. Director of the High Museum of Art, announces today the appointment of Sarah Schleuning as the Museum’s new curator of decorative arts and design. Schleuning currently serves as curator at the Wolfsonian Museum at Florida International University and will join the High on May 16, 2011. As curator of decorative arts and design, Schleuning will be responsible for the High’s growing collection of more than 2,250 works, with notable examples from the Virginia Carroll Crawford Collection of American Decorative Art and the Frances and Emory Cocke Collection of English Ceramics.

“I am thrilled that Sarah will be joining our curatorial staff,” stated David Brenneman, the High’s Director of Collections and Exhibitions. “Sarah brings a terrific track record of thoughtful exhibitions and programs to our decorative arts and design department. I look forward to working with her to continue to nurture the High’s traditional strength in the decorative arts and to introduce modern and contemporary design to Atlanta and the region.”

Most recently, Schleuning organized the exhibition “MetalCraft: Architectural Metalwork from The Wolfsonian” at the Wolfsonian-Florida International University (summer 2011). In her role as curator, Schleuning has organized numerous exhibitions including “+5: Recent Acquisitions from The Wolfsonian Collection” (2010) and “Fashioning the Modern French Interior: Pochoir Portfolio from the 1920s” (2007). During her tenure at the Wolfsonian, Schleuning also held the position of fellowship coordinator, in which she managed the Wolfsonian’s fellowship program and research center activities. Her published work includes the 2008 RIBA International Book Award finalist “Moderne: Fashioning the French Interior” (Princeton Architectural Press, 2008) and “Weapons of Mass Dissemination: The Propaganda of War” (2003). Schleuning was instrumental in organizing and developing the Visionaries Group, composed of dynamic leaders and enthusiasts in Miami’s art and design community who fundraise and serve as ambassadors for the museum.

As curator of decorative arts and design at the High Museum of Art, Schleuning will be responsible for the Virginia Carroll Crawford Collection of American Decorative Art. This collection, known for its quality and depth, represents nearly 100 years of American decorative art masterpieces. The High’s decorative arts collection, which comprises approximately 2,250 pieces, also boasts the Frances and Emory Cocke Collection of English Ceramics. Recent acquisitions have focused on design from the 20th and 21st centuries, including the key additions of Gerrit Rietveld’s “Red/Blue Chair” (1918), Ettore Sottsass’s “Superbox” (1968), Ron Arad’s “Blo-Void 1” chair (2006) and Joris Laarman’s “Bone” armchair (2008).

“The High Museum of Art has an amazing collection, especially in the decorative arts and design,” said Schleuning. “It is an honor to work with such a prestigious institution and incredible colleagues. I look forward to being engaged with the dynamic members and supporters of the High and the vibrant community of Atlanta.”

Schleuning received a Master of Arts degree in the history of the decorative arts from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in conjunction with Parsons School of Design, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University. As assistant curator and curatorial fellow at Cranbrook Art Museum in Michigan, Schleuning organized several exhibitions, including “Harry Bertoia: Visualizing Sound” and “Zine Scene,” and contributed to the publications “Cranbrook Art Museum: 100 Treasures” and “Three Decades of Contemporary Art: The Dr. John and Rose M. Shuey Collection.” Schleuning is a member of the American Association of Museum Curators, the American Association of Museums and the International Committee of Museums-International Committee of Decorative Arts and Design.

High Museum of Art
The High Museum of Art, founded in 1905 as the Atlanta Art Association, is the leading art museum in the southeastern United States. With more than 12,000 works of art in its permanent collection, the High Museum of Art has an extensive anthology of 19th- and 20th-century American and decorative art; significant holdings of European paintings; a growing collection of African American art; and burgeoning collections of modern and contemporary art, photography and African art. The High is also dedicated to supporting and collecting works by Southern artists and is distinguished as the only major museum in North America to have a curatorial department specifically devoted to the field of folk and self-taught art. The High's media arts department produces acclaimed annual film series and festivals of foreign, independent and classic cinema. In November 2005, the High opened three new buildings by architect Renzo Piano that more than doubled the Museum's size, creating a vibrant "village for the arts" at the Woodruff Arts Center in midtown Atlanta. For more information about the High, please visit www.high.org.

The Woodruff Arts Center
The Woodruff Arts Center is ranked among the top four arts centers in the nation. The Woodruff is unique in that it combines four visual and performing arts divisions on one campus as one not-for-profit organization. Opened in 1968, the Woodruff Arts Center is home to the Alliance Theatre, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the High Museum of Art and Young Audiences. To learn more about the Woodruff Arts Center, please visit www.woodruffcenter.org.